Las Vegas Immigration Lawyer Answers Your Consular Processing Questions
Seeking US permanent residence through consular processing? Las Vegas immigration lawyer Nancy Robinett can help you understand and prepare for the process.
There are several paths to lawful permanent residence in the United States. While all these roads lead to a green card, some are more complicated and difficult to navigate than others. Consular processing is probably the most difficult, but it is available to more folks, so it might be the only available path for many Las Vegas families to bring loved ones into the country.
Fortunately, it is not a path you have to undertake on your own, at least, not entirely. While the final steps will be yours to take, or rather, your relative to take abroad, the preparation you will receive by working with an immigration lawyer throughout the process will be vital to improving their chances.
While some folks in Las Vegas may like to gamble, when it comes to immigration procedures, immigration lawyer Nancy Robinett prefers to leave as little as possible up to chance. She can help you understand the consular process ahead of time and work with you and your relative abroad to prepare and put them on the path to a green card and a new beginning.
What Is Consular Processing? Who Needs It?
If you have citizenship or permanent residency somewhere in the United States, for example in Las Vegas, U.S. immigration laws (at least for now) allow you to petition to have certain family members obtain a green card, and thus lawful residency to join you. For some relatives, who are already living in the United States legally, this will be done through an adjustment of status.
Relatives that do not qualify for an adjustment of status (because they are not a close enough relative (Family Preference Category) or not living in the United States legally already) will need to go through the longer and more uncertain Consular Processing. Unlike an adjustment of status, this is handled outside the country, with the U.S. consulate in their home country (or in certain cases their current country of residence).
As a result, the process generally takes up to twice as long and involves many more steps both for you (the petitioner) and your relative (the applicant). Because it has more steps, that also means more documents and more potential for mistakes and refusals, which is why it is so important to work with an experienced attorney when preparing consular processing for your relative.
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Lawyer Answers Frequently Asked Consular Processing Questions
Consular processing is not one single step but rather a series of steps with different agencies, starting with a petition to the United States Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) and ending with an interview by the applicant with the U.S. Consulate in their country of residence. Only an experienced and skilled lawyer can answer all the questions you might have, but here we have gathered some of the most frequent ones to help get you started.
How Long Will Consular Processing Take To Get A Green Card?
Consular processing is not a rapid process. Given the number of agencies and steps involved, you should not expect a definitive answer for at least a year, though most are handly in less than two years. There will also be variance based on the consulate involved in question, and their processing speeds and the demand for Visas.
Even if you do get the answer, it can take even longer to get the residency permit, as there is often a waiting list for the limited number of available Green Cards.
What Documents Do I Need To Present For Consular Processing?
Consular processing starts by having you (the petitioner in the United States) file Form I-130, but this form needs to be submitted with a number of key supporting documents. Notably, this will need to include:
- Proof of your current legal residency status or citizenship.
- Evidence of your relationship with the applicant.
Later on in the process, you will also need to demonstrate that you have the means to support your relative (affidavit of support) with:
- Proof of your current income.
- Tax receipts or returns.
At each step along the process, there may also be fees to pay.
In addition to these documents you must provide, your applicant relative must also be able to present their own documents, which they will need to bring originals and copies of to their interview.
- Form DS-260, which includes all basic information, even social media accounts.
- Birth certificates to prove their identity.
- Passport.
- Criminal record and possibly a police clearance as well.
- Marriage certificates and any marriage termination records.
- Other documents, as requested by the consulate, depending on the country.
They will also often need to schedule a fingerprinting appointment, as well as a required medical examination by an authorized physician, whose results will need to be brought to the consular processing interview in addition to the rest of the documents.
Can I Bring A Lawyer To The Consular Processing Interview?
During the interview at the consulate, the applicant will be questioned about all the information provided up to that point and asked other relevant questions about their application, intentions, and so forth. This interview can be a daunting process, and it would only be natural to want to have your lawyer in attendance. Unfortunately, the applicant cannot bring a lawyer with them to the interview.
However, the petitioner, applicant, and your attorney can all work together closely ahead of the consular processing interview to help prepare for it. Such preparation can be invaluable in ensuring that your relative passes this critical stage. Las Vegas immigration lawyer Nancy Robinett has helped hundreds of families prepare for this interview and has conducted practice and preparation sessions with folks from across the globe online.
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Contact A Consular Processing Lawyer Today!
Robinett Law PLLC | Your Path To A New Beginning Starts With A Call To Us
The Green Card you or your relative needs is within your reach, but to get it, you might have to go through the difficult steps of consular processing. Fortunately, you do not have to do so alone. You can work with Las Vegas-based immigration lawyer Nancy Robinett, no matter where you are in the process or the world.
Do not take any risks by going alone when a Green Card is on the line, call our office today at (612) 662-6582 or reach out online from anywhere across the globe, and we can discuss your consular processing procedure and how we can help.
